Body Brokers: Inside America's Underground Trade in Human Remains
Author:
Genre: Nonfiction
Book Type: Paperback
Author:
Genre: Nonfiction
Book Type: Paperback
I wrote this review for Amazon:
I hadn't read much of the book before I thought that this book went into what Mary Roach's Stiff did not go into - exactly where cadavers come from. And this is exactly what the book is about - it is not about how useful and valuable cadavers are to medicine (read "Stiff" if that's what you're looking for) and it is not telling people NOT to donate their bodies. This book simply illuminates how/where a fair percentage of bodies and parts come to be part of medical science - she is not saying that this is where ALL of the bodies and parts come from. She is merely letting us know that a lot of people who donate their bodies are mislead - if not blatantly lied to - about how their bodies are used; they are especially misled when their donated bodies are capable of turning a nice profit where it was thought no profit would be made. Because people are so concerned about their bodies after death, this is a very valid piece of journalism. It also lets people know that there is a possibility their bodies could very well be harvested without their loved one's knowledge or consent.
While this book was very informative I felt it read more like a crime novel or a true crime book (depends on the author in comparison). This book was more true crime readable than expose readable. I wouldn't call it a brilliant sample muck-racking but it was a pretty well thought out attempt that included plenty of primary sources.
I hadn't read much of the book before I thought that this book went into what Mary Roach's Stiff did not go into - exactly where cadavers come from. And this is exactly what the book is about - it is not about how useful and valuable cadavers are to medicine (read "Stiff" if that's what you're looking for) and it is not telling people NOT to donate their bodies. This book simply illuminates how/where a fair percentage of bodies and parts come to be part of medical science - she is not saying that this is where ALL of the bodies and parts come from. She is merely letting us know that a lot of people who donate their bodies are mislead - if not blatantly lied to - about how their bodies are used; they are especially misled when their donated bodies are capable of turning a nice profit where it was thought no profit would be made. Because people are so concerned about their bodies after death, this is a very valid piece of journalism. It also lets people know that there is a possibility their bodies could very well be harvested without their loved one's knowledge or consent.
While this book was very informative I felt it read more like a crime novel or a true crime book (depends on the author in comparison). This book was more true crime readable than expose readable. I wouldn't call it a brilliant sample muck-racking but it was a pretty well thought out attempt that included plenty of primary sources.
